An experiment that started 10 years ago seems to be open for fresh discussion, although from the other side of the fence.

The Russellville School District is exploring the option of bringing junior high athletics back together, eliminating the East and West programs in favor of a larger, unified program. It’s an effort, we assume, to make the district more competitive.

Mostly anecdotal evidence was presented when the issue was discussed at a recent special-called meeting of the Russellville School Board. The only fact everyone seemed to agree on was that more coaches were needed. Some wanted to study the issue more, while others were ready to make a decision.

We, on the other hand, were left with more questions and think more information might be helpful for a decision that seems an important one to parents, the administration and — most importantly — student-athletes.

• Does moving to a one-school system limit the number of students who have a chance to play sports?

• Will unifying the program essentially make the pool of players so big that only the best of the best get to play?

• Does this bigger pool launch us into a larger classification and stiffer competition?

• Are we really a two junior high school city trying to squeeze into a one Junior high city uniform?

And to what end, we wonder.

Here’s a proposal based on what we know: leave seventh and eighth grade as split programs, allowing the most students to have an opportunity to play and perhaps find a sport that suits them — an option presented at the board’s November meeting. We’ve been told most attrition happens as students move into ninth grade, so merging ninth grade teams seems a practical decision.

Surely, there are some things to consider with this plan because eighth graders are included in the junior high program, but it allows the district to capture more potential student athletes and provides students the chance to play school sports even if it’s only for two years. And in the final reckoning, isn’t allowing students an opportunity to experience as many things as possible the whole idea? How many of us have known someone — or even been someone — that was recruited because of a need to fill a team and went on to play in high school, college or beyond?

We look at the East/West model as a funnel, capturing a large amount of students in the lower grades and merging them into one at the end of their time at Russellville. While we’re all for being competitive in athletics and fielding the best teams possible, does doing away with the current dichotomy adversely narrow the pipeline of student athletes, limiting the numbers who play? We hope that’s not the outcome, because the relationships forged and lessons learned on fields and courts in middle school and junior high often last a lifetime.